Introduction:

both in normal and pathological aging, amnesic dysfunction is the most comm on cognitive disorder. The memory disturbance causes significant alteration in the social or labor functioning of the older adult.

Objectives:

to determine the prevalence of cognitive impairment in the elderly in a medical office.

Methods:

Analytical, observational, cross-sectional study was carried out on all the elderly (298) of the medical office no. and the Minimental Test Examination and the Yesavage Geriatric Depression scale were applied. Absolute and relative frequency calculations as well as the chi-square test were performed to determine the association between the variables.

Results:

Cognitive impairment affected a third of the older adults studied. An increase in cognitive impairment was observed as age advanced. Sex and educational level did not show an association with its appearance. A significant association with smoking, alcohol intake, family history of dementia, anxiety, and depression was found. Arterial hypertension followed by diabetes were the most prevalent chronic diseases in these patients.

Conclusions:

Cognitive impairment is a prevalent the health problem in communities and factors are associated with it that can be managed by health professionals for the benefit of the elderly.

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